Aaron Hernandez Jersey Exchange Does Brisk Business

The Aaron Hernandez jersey exchange has proven popular with New England Patriots followers.

Former fans of the now-jailed tight end flocked to the team souvenir merchandise store outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., this weekend to swap his No. 81 jersey for a free replacement bearing the name and number of any other Pats player.

The Patriots cut Aaron Hernandez from the team less than two hours after he was arrested on first degree murder charges late last month. Two days later, the team announced that on July 6 and 7, any fan could bring his/her Hernandez jersey to the Patriot Pro Shop (if it was purchased there or via the online store) and exchange it for a comparable Patriots player shirt. The team also pulled any existing Hernandez gear off the shelves. The Patriots organization plans on destroying the Hernandez jerseys it has gathered up, ESPN reports

Apparently the existing, limited stock of Tim Tebow jerseys flew off the shelves early in the Hernandez swap.

According to a tweet from the Pro Shop, the store received over 1,000 Hernandez jerseys in the exchange as of 5 pm yesterday. The most popular replacements were Vince Wilfork, Tom Brady, Chandler Jones, and Stevan Ridley.

Aaron Hernandez has been charged with murder and firearms violations in connection with the death of his friend Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player whose body was found in an industrial park near the NFL star’s home in North Attleboro, Mass., on June 17. He is currently being held without bail and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Hernandez is also reportedly under a separate criminal investigation for a 2012 drive-by double homicide in Boston last year. The ex-Pats tight end is also being sued in civil court for personal injuries for allegedly shooting a man in Florida after they argued in a Miami strip club.

One fan who was trading in his Hernandez jersey told the Boston Herald that “He was a great player with all kinds of talent, but there’s simply no way I could ever consider putting this on again. Not with the kind of stuff that’s already come out, to say nothing of what still may come.”

Some opportunists have been trying to sell Aaron Hernandez jerseys on eBay for many times original cost, although one Boston sports memorabilia dealer told NBC News that “there is little value to the Hernandez jerseys.”